TSM Episode 498: Time’s Winged Chariot

Lusipurr and SiliconNooB bid farewell to Alastair Cook and Michael Cunningham, even as Dragon Quest XI and Valkyria Chronicles 4 make their arrival in the west, and they discuss how the release of consoles and video games causes time to seem compressed.

8 comments on “TSM Episode 498: Time’s Winged Chariot”

Great podcast, guys. I’m glad Luisipurr and Siliconnoob are enjoying Dragon Quest 11, because after plugging in several hours myself, I agree that it is a highly polished, charming, and engaging JRPG that fans of the genre can happily sink their teeth into. One thing I’d like to comment on that wasn’t mentioned is that the auto battle function makes grinding much easier, especially with the “Fight Wisely” option. I usually turn this off when progressing further in the story, but if you want to take a break and level, I’d recommend it. Also, the crafting in the game so far is well worth investing the extra time in towards, however it’s also nice that it is not necessary if you don’t want to put the time into it.

While checking out reviews for the game, I remember hearing that in Japan, how people enjoy the game is usually after a bath and before bed, as sort of a “bedtime story” in that it offers a consistent experience, that while familiar, is comforting in that aspect, and it’s unpretentious in that it avoids melodrama that other rpg’s can fall into easily when trying to modernize stories or make them more western in their presentation. After thinking about the series like that, I gained a new appreciation for it’s nostalgic consistency.